Finding a Toaster Oven Without Nonstick

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How bad is nonstick for you really? There are a lot of opinions on that. I personally choose to avoid it considering that some studies show that the chemical, PFCs, found in nonstick, has been linked to lower birth weights (1), abnormal thyroid hormones, inflamed liver, and a weakened immune system (2). If you breathe in fumes from overheated nonstick, you can develop “Teflon flu,” named for the flu-like symptoms you get from it. My understanding is that companies phased out the much-hated PFOAs in 2015, but still contain PFCs.

That said, it’s probably fine if it’s not heated above a certain temperature. The problem is, that is far easier to do than you’d think. It’s advised not to cook above medium heat when using nonstick, and to avoid cooking things like steak on it. A study found that the pan cooking steak over high heat reached a high temperature in under ten minutes. If you are heating oil in a light weight pan, it can also reach too high of temperatures within 2 ½ minutes. (3)

So when I was looking to buy a long desired toaster oven (we had a used one from a friend for a while that finally quit), it was with some dismay that I realized that almost all of them were coated with nonstick. While I wasn’t planning on using them over 500F, I was cautious considering how easy it was to overheat a nonstick pan. I wondered how high of a temperature the sides of the toaster oven really got considering how close they were to the heat source. I felt uncomfortable with that, and so wanted to avoid it. We needed a toaster oven desperately as we would be living without an oven for over six months, so I buckled down and did some homework on the topic.

Before I go any further, I’ll say that while I’ve included Amazon affiliate links, this post is not underwritten by any company, and I purchased my toaster oven myself. I just wanted to share the good news about this nonstick-free toaster oven that has met our needs so well!

Because we were going to be using this toaster oven a lot it needed to be large, hold up to daily use, NOT have nonstick, and heat evenly for baking and toasting. It was a high order, and I almost gave up but low and behold I found one!

At the time that I was researching, the Breville Smart Oven were getting rave reviews everywhere online. And I’m not going to lie. Even when I found out that the interior was nonstick, I still wanted one. However, in the end, I wanted to have an appliance that I was comfortable using every day, and kept looking.

That’s when I found that one brand, Waring, had several toaster ovens that did not use nonstick in the interior. However, not all of them got good reviews on Amazon. But their newest (at least at the time) was not only large enough for my needs, but also got great reviews. Plus, it was much, much cheaper than the Smart Oven. So I crossed my fingers and ordered one. This is the one I ordered: Waring Pro Digital Convection Oven.

I have been super happy with it!

It does everything that I wanted it to – it bakes well, it toasts well, it doesn’t have nonstick, and it is solidly built. Even though I now have a full sized oven again, I’m still using it all of the time. It does toast slower than a regular toaster, by the way, but it toasts well. This is unusual for a toaster oven. Plus, you can put up to 6 slices of bread in the toaster oven, so this is great for large families.

We’ve been using it for about seven months or so now, and even though I now have a large oven to use again, I still use it just about every day.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for toaster ovens without nonstick:

“Stainless steel” toaster ovens are usually talking about the exterior, not the interior.

We typically think of nonstick as being dark, but apparently some nonstick finishes look shiny and more like stainless steel than our dark baking pans. Never go simply by appearances but double check with the company that it is truly NOT nonstick.

It can be hard to track down the interior materials of a toaster oven. Sometimes the best thing to do is to go to the company’s website and look at their Q and A page. If the information isn’t there, then sending them an email is your best bet. (I sent emails to Waring and to Breville about their toaster ovens interior).

For example, I have heard rumors that this Cuisinart Convection/Steaming Toaster Oven has stainless steel interiors, which would be great! It’s much more expensive, but if you are an avid baker (perhaps of sourdough), you would certainly enjoy the baking/steaming option on this unit. But before I would buy it, I would contact the company directly to double check on the interior, as I couldn’t find it explicitly mentioned.

I’ve been very happy with my purchase. I’d love to hear if there are other brands that you’ve found that are also free of nonstick!

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I love beautiful and simple food that is nourishing to the body and the soul. I wrote Fresh: Nourishing Salads for All Seasons and Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons as another outlet of sharing this love of mine. I also love sharing practical tips on how to make a real food diet work on a real life budget. Find me online elsewhere by clicking on the icons below!

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Comments

Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. My family has pet birds and Teflon fumes are so toxic to birds that it can make them very sick, or even kill them! (Think canary in a coal mine–the miners knew to evacuate when the canary stopped singing because that meant the bird had died from exposure to toxic gases.) My birds live in the dining room, right next to the kitchen. I’m going to look into this.

I contacted KitchenAid about my toaster oven, model number KCO222. Their representative told me that this oven does have a nonstick coating, but that it is silicone based and specifically tested to be safe for birds. In fact, she brought up birds before I even mentioned that was why I was asking about it. Yay!

I recently purchased this same KitchenAid toaster oven and have spent the last 4 days trying to offgass the toxic fumes. I have run the oven in cycles several times a day and have washed down the racks but it doesn’t stop the toxic fumes. Absolutely intolerable.

I have parakeets and have been offgassing with windows wide open (although it still permeates the house). I don’t believe Kitchenaid. These fumes are making me have headaches and nausea — how can it be safe for birds? I am worried already about mine although I have them upstairs away from the kitchen. I may ask to see their research on birds. I wonder how that was conducted??

I am returning this oven and hope to replace it with the Waring oven recommended above or another nontoxic one.

I am putting as much time into finding a healthy appliance as buying a car.

Thanks for this post! I’ve been using my toaster oven more often since clearing my countertops (including my regular toaster) for a less cluttered look. And I do take it up to a very high temp often (450). I never thought about the nonstick aspect. Hmmmm…

I LOVE my toaster oven and have had one for as long as I can remember in my 43 years of living (my mom always had one in the kitchen as well)! However, out of ALL the toaster ovens I have owned,I never thought about the non-stick factor!! I will be replacing mine now that I read this post. Thank you for all you do to spread good, sound, healthy information!

Thanks for the helpful post. I’d like to buy a toaster oven, and use the microwave less, or not at all. How do you cook leftovers? My baking dishes and glass dishes all say, “not for use in a toaster oven.”

That’s a great question! True confession: I haven’t been double checking everything I put in my toaster oven to see if it’s safe or not. I’ve used my Borosilicate glass bakeware in it and so far so good, but I can’t say I’d recommend it to others unless the company verified it to be toaster oven safe. (I suspect it’s a liability issue.) I’ve also used a stainless steel muffin tin, and stainless steel cake pans can be used in this large of a toaster oven too. Instead of using the aluminum tray that came with the toaster oven, I’ve been using this small enameled pan. For leftovers, I either place them on the enameled pan and reheat in the toaster oven, or, depending on the dish, heat it up on the stove top with a little fat or broth.

Hi KimiHarris, I am wondering why you chose to use Borosilicate glass bakeware? Is it because it’s thin? I have tried thicker bakeware and meats don’t reheat as nicely as with the thin toaster oven pan that I have had for years and could potentially be aluminum. In looking for a non, no-stick muffin pan I came across the info that toaster ovens themselves have Teflon. Ugh

I usually avoid digital ovens because of the annoying beep they make either setting it and/or when the timer is done.
Is there a volume adjustment setting or better yet, a way to disable the beep completely?
Thanks.

I haven’t tried yet, but I think that there is a way to manually remove the “sound” aspect of this toaster oven. I believe there may have been a Q and A on Amazon about the beeping sound and how to remove it. 🙂

Splatters from broiling bake-on into the interior immediately and I couldn’t remove most of them, even immediately after cooking. No way to get any of it off. Waring customer service said that there was nothing that could be done about that.

Finally, I was so tired of using an oven with a fried-grease coating on the interior (2 yrs of burnt splatters), I bought a second one of the same model. Less than a year after purchasing it, I set it to Broil and smoke that smelled like burnt rubber started coming out of it. I contacted Waring and after some back and forth they said that I could exchange it under the warranty, but I would have to ship it to them. The cost to ship it was $150.

Thank you for this great info! Glad I’m not the only “nutjob” who doesn’t want nonstick on my toaster oven. (:
Not sure why most people don’t question this sort of thing but so glad you did my research for me.
Thanks again!

So glad I read your review!! I had just purchased the Breville Smart Oven in Amazon (yes, I was also soooo wanting it for a long time), and when I went to open the box the first thing I read is the warning from the California Proposition 65 saying “This product contains chemichals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm”. The funny thing is that they also mention: “Applicable to California residents only”, but I’m just going to assume that it will affect my family as well even though we don’t live there (being a bit sarcastic here…) No need to say, this baby will go back where it came from…

Long story short, it immediately clicked me that the cause could have been the non-stick interior, and started a frentic online search for a not non-stick oven, which is how I found your blog.

Thanks to your suggestion, and since I also like Cuisinart products, I narrowed my choices down to the Cuisinart Steam And Convection Oven. I just called their customer service and confirmed that this is their ONLY oven with not a non-stick interior. I also took the opportunity to provide feedback to their lady in customer service telling her that many of their customers would blindly prefer to clean the oven interior old-fashion way, rather than putting their family’s health at stake, and to please extend their choices of not- non-stick. I’m hoping someone out there can hear us…

So, thanks to you for your suggestions and thanks to the State of California for the awesome steps towards a healthier world and making it mandatory to provide that information in their consumer products.

Having researched all day, what i can say is this: Waring uses aluminized steel on one product instead of Teflon. The ceramic coatings in place of Teflon are essentially, well, Teflon beads, in the Kitchenaid model. And the only one that is Teflon free, besides a $555.00 real professional oven, is… the Cuisineart Steam and Convection Oven. How frustrating, and sad… when all i wanted was something clean, safe, functional, and cheap (or inexpensive) !

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The information you find here at The Nourishing Gourmet is meant to help you become a better cook! This site is primarily for sharing family friendly recipes. It's not meant to give medical advice or to make any health claims on the prevention or curing of diseases.This site is only for informational and educational purposes. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding in supplements or making any changes in your diet. Also, any links to sponsors or affiliates (including Amazon) may give me a percentage of the sale or a pay per click. Thank you for supporting this site.